Daily Life
Months of the Year ''' '''Days of the Week • Sunday • Stoneday • Waveday • Woodday • Flameday • Windday • Moonday Hours of the Day Each hour lasts for roughly three hours. In urban areas, or places where patrols are made, the hours are often referred to as 'watches' and are marked by the ringing of a bell. • Newday (Primus): roughly 6am - 9am • Highmorn (Manum): 9am - noon • Sunhigh (Tercus): noon - 3pm • Sunfade (Posmerum): 3pm - 6pm • Eventide (Vesperus): 6pm - 9pm • Moonrise (Nessum): 9pm - midnight • Deepnight (Shadus): midnight - 3am • Nightfade (Noxum): 3am - 6am Major Holidays • Newspring 1st: Candlemas • Midspring 16th: Spring Equinox/Astarun • Summersdawn 1st: Baeltain • Highsummer 16th: Summer Soltistice/Midsummer • Autumnturn 1st: Lamastide • Autumncrest 16th: Autumnal Equinox/Maebun • Victory of the Overlord: Autumnfade 1st • Winterdusk 1st: Hallowmas • Deepwinter 16th: Winter Solstice/Yuletide Coin of Calandia The official coin of Calandia is the Mark. Silver marks are used for most transactions for goods of substance. Silver marks are often referred to as 'angels'. Gold marks indicate status and wealth and most common folk will never have seen such a coin. Copper marks are generally not referred to as marks, but simply as 'coppers.' These coins are officially exchanged at the rate of 12 to 1 of the next highest value. Officially minted coin bears the likeness of Lucius II on one side and a dragon on the other. A wide range of coin of varying quality is also in circulation. Some of this coin is of such low quality (or deliberately counterfeited) that it is worthless. Hacksilver is a debased alloy of silver and whatever other metals are available that serves as the coin for many transactions in some areas. In almost all of Calandia (including urban areas) forms of barter and exchange are common. Names Native humans of Calandia possess between one and four names. The higher-ranking or more accomplished citizen has more names than the low-born one. While names are usually assigned in a manner reflecting the citizen's personal - significator - tribal affiliations, they may also incorporate acquired nicknames. Personal names are first names. Most male names commonly end in -ius, -an, -ar, -at, -ic, -is, -os, -un, or -us (such as Cauros or Gaurun, Biric or Biros). Female names commonly end in -a, -i, -it, -ot, -la, -ra, or -si (such as Lara or Larit, Marla or Marsi). Significator names are comprised primarily of noun adjectives and indicate something important about the person or his/her family. Significator names do not necessarily refer to a recent event or favourable attribute. Examples include Gauros "The Fighter" and Marla "The Beggar" which, in High Calandian, become Gauros Kiemloros and Marla Nesbarit. Tribal names indicate a person's clan and are typically used only when a clansman is raised to the rank of nobility. Occasionally tribal names will refer to a god or guardian spirit, such as na'Meliosi or na'Urici, or will be nomadic in origin and translate into names like "Swift-Raider" (Ludheimis) or "Whisper-Scout" (Pallanae). A name suh as Gauros Kiemloros Ludheimis implies that Gauros is a clan chief or ranking leader and warrior. Nicknames may be acquired at any point during a person's lifetime. For example, "the Invincible" has become the appelation of the Overlord, Lucius II. His full name is Lucius Sorodhar na'Meliosi Davemm, where Davemm means "invincible." This translates to Lucius the Overlord, of the Melios tribe, the Invincible. Languages A continent the size of Calandia has, of course, many languages. Here are some of the major languages and dialects spoken across the land. High Calandian This is the original language of the inhabitants of the Great Plateau. The language borrowed heavily from the conquering nomads at the time of Varstus and was formalized as the language of the realm under the Dragon Kings. One of the Dragon Kings, Carodinas, refused to have any other languages spoken in his presence, dismissed all court translators, and executed any who spoke another tongue in his hearing. This policy of repression ultimately failed. It is still a living language, but is seen as quite archaic, and is generally reserved for formal, religious and courtly occasions. Low Calandian This is not strictly speaking a language, but a catch-all term for the variety of dialects of High Calandian that have emerged across the continent, as local languages have adapated to and incorporated features of, or been absorbed by, the language of the conquerors. Often these dialects are referred to by names relating to their locale or origin, such as Hanese, The Spritewood Tongue, Barrow and the like. These dialects are mutually comprehensible for many, particularly where the regions are close to each other. They differ more sharply with distance, and as a general rule of thumb people born more than about 500 kilometres apart will have great difficulty understanding each other. (This distance is even shorter in mountainous or difficult terrain.) Maronas This language is spoken by the inhabitants of the great island of Masan. Titles